Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is in dialogue with media companies and pay TV distributors such as Time Warner Cable Inc to launch a refurbished Apple-branded TV set-top box, in the future months, according to the Wall Street Journal citing sources familiar with the matter.
Apple limiting its TV plans
It seems that the company is slowly retreating from its ambitious TV plans. Previously, the iPhone maker was making efforts to license the TV programming for its own internet-based TV service just like the other “over the top” efforts from technology companies such as Sony Corp, Intel Corp and Google Inc.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is expected to work with two big cable companies instead of competing against them, according to the sources. The company is expecting cable companies to give programming rights, and not acquire them on their own. According to the sources, Apple would try to acquire some rights directly, in the future.
Few sources revealed that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) would launch the new set top box, in June, but another source said that device would not be ready for several months after that. Apple TV, launched, in 2007, allow users access to iTunes movies on the larger screen along with streaming video from Netflix, Hulu and other online services. However, the TV could garner only limited popularity.
Previous efforts not much successful
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has tried to push its TV service deeper among the customers over several years. Back, in 2012, Apple was in discussion with operators like Time Warner Cable about a video set-top box and other media companies to acquire the rights for the much hyped Internet based digital-video-recording service through the box. The company was planning to stream the full season of current shows, as well as, live programming, and in this bid it also offered to pay extra for ad-free programming.
However, there was no successful deal between Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and any other media company. Programmers did not like the idea of ad-free TV, and Time Warner Cable took no interest in some of initial proposals from Apple. Other companies such as Comcast Corp are rapidly spreading their own next-generation set-top box known as X1.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is, however, not that aggressive in its latest plan as the company is not seeking full current seasons of the shows, instead demanding the programmers for just most recent five episodes of current –season shows, which is standard for video-on-demand services, in the TV industry.
